"Squirrelpaw! Squirrelpaw! Stop!"
Squirrelpaw hardly heard Brambleclaw's shout behind her. She pounded through the mud desperately, dodging the paws of reaching Twolegs and ignoring the rain that got in her eyes. Her breaths came in quick, panicked gasps as she tried desperately to keep the monster in sight. It only took heartbeats for it to speed out of sight though, turning a sharp corner and disappearing behind the trees on its way back to the Thunderpath.
Squirrelpaw collapsed into a sobbing heap, not caring the slightest about the mud that caked her pelt, nor the Twoleg that was coming up behind her.
"Stay away from her!" She heard Brambleclaw's bounding paw steps and his snarl as he lashed out at the Twoleg trying to grab her. She heard the Twoleg's angry huff, but it backed away. More pawsteps sounded then Leafpaw was at her side as well, nosing her to her paws.
"Come on," Leafpaw spoke softly. "We need to get back to camp."
Squirrelpaw allowed her sister to guide her swiftly back to the shelter of the trees with Brambleclaw attentively trotting behind them in case any other Twolegs tried to reach for them again. Back in the undergrowth they met with the rest of the patrol, deep enough in the forest that they could no longer see the clearing. Squirrelpaw looked around at them with a sense of hollowness.
Cloudtail and Brightheart were both soaked, their normally fluffy pelts were plastered to their sides miserably. Rainwhisker was nursing a bleeding claw, holding it carefully off the ground as he stared silently through the trees. Off to the side, Mistyfoot and a kittypet that Squirrelpaw guessed was Cody were both sat a respectful distance away. In front of them all, Thornclaw was pacing furiously, his pelt bristling with racing thoughts that threatened to spill. Every one of them was plastered and smeared with mud.
The golden warrior whipped around at the approach of Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw, and Brambleclaw. His eye flashed as he growled, "How could Firestar get taken by those Twolegs?" He lashed out at the undergrowth, claws scoring a leaf dangerously. "He fought like all of LionClan! They couldn't have caught him. He had to have-"
He broke off as he caught the crestfallen expressions of the two apprentices. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, his burst of anger fading into a feeling of regret. "It's all my fault. I was only a fox length away. If I had known, I would have- I could have helped. I could have saved him..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say in the disappearance of their leader.
Brambleclaw padded forward and met the warrior's gaze steadily, "It's no ones' fault." He told him. "None of could have stopped it. Firestar knew what he was doing and the cost that might come with it."
Mistyfoot dipped her head low, "I owe him my life," she murmured. "I thought we would never escape." She turned to look at Squirrelpaw, and spoke gratefully, "You saved us."
Squirrelpaw shook her head, and it took her a couple heartbeats to find her voice. "We all risked our lives," she managed. "And Firestar lead the way."
"Firestar's really gone, then?" Rainwhisker asked, seeming to emerge from his thoughts suddenly. His eyes were wide and unsure. "What will we tell the Clan?"
The cats stared silently around and at one another. No one wanted to return to camp and break the news to their Clanmates. None of them wanted to face the questions and grief, and the faces of Graystripe and Sandstorm when they realize their leader, Graystripe's best friend and Sandstorm's mate, was ripped away from his Clan.
"May StarClan help him," Thornclaw whispered, looking to the still raining sky above.
Several questions came to Squirrelpaw's mind, and she was sure the others had questions too. No one had the energy to voice them though. In the stifling silence that had engulfed them, Brambleclaw was the first one to stand.
"Come on," he meowed, his shoulders seeming to brace themselves for what was ahead of them. "We need to return to camp."
The cats stood up and began to follow him when the kittypet spoke for the first time. "Um," she meowed hesitantly, fearfully. "What about me?"
Squirrelpaw turned with the rest of the patrol to look at the plump tabby, as if all of them had just noticed her for the first time. Her eyes shifted from one warrior to another nervously, but she did not tremble.
"Who are you?" Sorreltail asked, sniffing the air. "A kittypet?" Rainwhisker's ears flattened and he began to growl threateningly.
Leafpaw stepped forward quickly, "This is Cody," She stood beside the kittypet's shoulder easily, "She stopped me from feeling sorry for myself, and made me believe we might be able to escape." Her voice wavered for a moment, but Leafpaw shook her head and turned to speak to her friend, "I don't think it's safe to travel the way back to the Twolegplace. Would you like to come to camp with us?"
Cody stared uncertainty at the warriors before her, and Squirrelpaw realized how they must look. Mud smeared, bleeding, and exhausted, with Thornclaw lashing out at leaves in anger. They must really be matching the appearance that the kittypet rumors seemed to paint about wild cats. It didn't help that Rainwhisker was still outright glaring at her.
"You'll be made welcome," Leafpaw meowed, turning to look at her Clanmates for support.
"Graystripe won't turn away any cat who's in trouble." Brambleclaw agreed, and Squirrelpaw saw a couple of the warriors wince at the mention of Graystripe. It should have been Firestar's name that they said, but now Graystripe was in charge of the Clan.
"I suppose we should be going then," Sorreltail sighed as the kittypet hesitantly agreed to come with them. She looked a little unhappy at letting Cody follow, but considering the recent events, she must be too tired to complain.
The group fell into a miserable silence as they padded back to Sunningrocks. The silence was only broken by Leafpaw's questions on why they weren't heading to camp, and Squirrelpaw explaining why they had to find shelter elsewhere. With the sound of the river murmuring up ahead, the patrol seemed to come to an agonizing crawl. No one on the patrol wanted to face their Clanmates.
As they emerged from the bracken to stand beside the river, Mistyfoot turned to the warriors with sad eyes. "I honor the warriors of ThunderClan for rescuing me. And I, along with the rest of RiverClan, will mourn the loss of Firestar with you." Her eyes seemed to cloud with grief for a moment, but she turned swiftly and dove into the water. With powerful churning legs, she reached the other side easily and pulled herself from the swirling water. Her tail tip flicked as she disappeared into the ferns of RiverClan territory.
The patrol turned and headed for the smooth boulders that lay downstream. Squirrelpaw half expected Leafpaw to be excited and launch forward to greet her Clanmates, but she knew that not even returning to her Clan would fix the terrible grief she felt. Squirrelpaw pressed her pelt against her sister's in silent support.
On the boulders, not many cats could be seen. Most of the cats were either out on hunting patrols or hunkered down under the rocks in an attempt to hide from the wind and rain. Graystripe however, was sitting atop the rocks and staring out over the swift-flowing river, apparently lost in his own thoughts. The rain had plastered his long fur to his body, and his normally healthy frame looked skinny and frail with hunger.
The breeze must have caught their scent though, as Graystripe turned his head suddenly. He leaped to his paws and bounded up the path to meet the patrol. His thundering paws created small splashes of water in the soaked grass. His tail shot straight in the air with the sight of Leafpaw, Cloudtail, and Brightheart. "You're all back!" he exclaimed, overcome with newly found excitement. "Firestar will be so happy to hear this wonderful news! This is exactly what he needed to brighten everyone's spirits."
More warriors of ThunderClan were emerging from their hiding spots to greet the patrol. Whitepaw shot forward to greet Cloudtail and Brightheart, her mother and father, with a cry of joy. Sandstorm bounded forward as well, nudging the other cats out of her way in an effort to reach Leafpaw. She began grooming her daughter at once, purring greatly.
"Brackenfur, see if you can find Firestar." Graystripe nodded to the warrior. "He must hear of this immediately."
Brackenfur got to his paws, but his fur bristled with unease. "Wasn't Firestar supposed to be on the patrol with Thornclaw and Rainwhisker?" He reminded the deputy hesitantly.
Graystripe seemed to pause with this realization, and he slowly turned to look back at the returning cats. "That's right." He said with a confused voice. "Thornclaw, where is Firestar?"
The golden warrior jumped slightly at being addressed, something very uncharacteristic of him. His mouth opened to speak, but he seemed unable to form words. The gathered Clan grew tense in the silence, and Graystripe repeated his words with narrowed eyes, "Where is Firestar?" His voice was strained and serious.
Leafpaw was the one to speak. Her voice was timid and broken, "The Twolegs caught him."
The stunned silence stretched on, and Squirrelpaw couldn't stand it. She forced herself to explain hoarsely, "They trapped him inside a monster's belly and took him away."
"He's... gone?" Graystripe stood there in the rain, seemingly frozen, and his eyes grew distant. "But that can't be right." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. His eyes hardened with stubborn determination. "Firestar is the leader of ThunderClan. He has to come back."
Brambleclaw lashed his tail in anger, "I should have stopped him." He heaved a breath and looked as though he wanted to pace. "We should have had a bigger patrol. If we had more warriors with us, this wouldn't have happened."
Sandstorm touched her tail to his shoulder gently, though her eyes were clouded with immense grief as well. "You have brought back three ThunderClan cats." She told him with a cracked voice, "Firestar would have done anything to return his cats to ThunderClan. He will find a way back."
Graystripe nodded numbly with her words, as if in an attempt to persuade himself that what she said was true. "Firestar will find a way back," he repeated to himself.
